Refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver and a refrigeration system using the same

ABSTRACT

A refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver includes an outer housing with a volume formed therein. A refrigerant pipeline extends through the volume for connection with a refrigerant line of a refrigeration system. The refrigerant pipeline is provided with a refrigerant relief port within the outer housing for allowing excess refrigerant to back up and fill the volume of the receiver when required in use.

FIELD

The present inventions relate to a refrigerant balancing receiver and a refrigeration system using the same.

BACKGROUND

Refrigeration systems that use a refrigerant reverse cycle principle to switch between a heating mode and a cooling mode and visa versa must have the refrigerant volumes balanced in the evaporator and the condenser. Imbalanced volume will create high pressure due to hydrolicing the refrigerant, and pressure build up due to the expansion valve closing.

Conventional solutions have been to fit a receiver into the refrigerant liquid line. FIG. 1 shows such a conventional reverse cycle refrigerant receiver. It can be seen that the conventional receiver consists of an outer housing 1 with a refrigerant volume formed therein and two inner conduits 2 extending into the housing 1, wherein the lower end of the inner conduits 2 nearly reaches the bottom of the refrigerant volume to allow for a liquid cap on the dipper conduits, while providing sufficient volume for the excess refrigerant to expand into the receiver.

With this conventional receiver, the refrigerant tends to fill the receiver volume prior to entering the evaporator when the refrigeration system is operated in a cooling mode. And this may cause a shortage of refrigerant in the evaporator and thus seriously affect the performance of the system.

If the refrigerant charge is increased sufficiently to fill the evaporator in the cooling mode, then when reversed to a heating mode, the condenser volume is too small to contain the refrigerant and the refrigerant hydraulics and causes high pressure in the condenser.

Further to this problem, either the condenser or the evaporator may be refrigerant to air and the other is refrigerant to liquid. The coefficient of the temperature transfer is much greater for the refrigerant to liquid heat exchanger, and thus a smaller volume is required in a refrigerant to liquid heat exchanger to produce the same output performance as a refrigerant to air heat exchanger. This situation is even more pronounced if enhanced surface conduit is used in the refrigerant to liquid heat transfer, in which case the heat exchanger volume may be further reduced. In this situation, balancing the refrigerant volume in the refrigerant to air heat exchanger and the refrigerant to fluid heat exchanger is extremely important due to the difference in volumes of the two heat exchangers.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTIONS

It is an object of the present inventions to provide a refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver which will overcome or ameliorate some of the disadvantages of the prior art, or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.

Other objects of the present inventions may become apparent from the following description, which is given by way of example only.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONS

According to a first aspect of the present inventions there is provided a refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver including;

-   -   an outer housing with a volume formed therein; and     -   a refrigerant pipeline extending through the volume for         connection with a refrigerant line of a refrigeration system;     -   wherein the refrigerant pipeline is provided with a refrigerant         relief port within the outer housing for allowing excess         refrigerant to back up and fill the volume of the receiver when         required in use.

Preferably the refrigerant relief port is configured or controlled so that when a refrigeration system to which the receiver is connected in use is in a cooling mode, the refrigerant is pumped directly through the pipeline and enters an evaporator heat exchanger, and when the refrigeration system is in a heating mode, the refrigerant can relieve through the relief port into the volume of the receiver as required to reduce or prevent refrigerant pressure build up in a condenser heat exchanger.

Preferably the refrigerant pipeline consists of two inner conduits, which enter into the outer housing at opposite sides thereof and have different diameters, wherein the smaller diameter conduit enters into the larger one a short distance, thus forming the refrigerant relief port therebetween.

Preferably the smaller diameter conduit enters into the receiver a short distance and at the bottom of the circumference of the housing, close to the housing wall, to allow the receiver to be mounted either vertically or horizontally.

Preferably the refrigerant pipeline is a single conduit, and the refrigerant relief port is provided as an aperture in the single conduit.

Preferably the refrigerant pipeline consists of a first “L” shaped conduit and a second reversed “L” shaped conduit, and wherein, the horizontal part of one conduit enters into the horizontal part of the other conduit so that the refrigerant relief port is formed therebetween.

According to a second aspect of the present inventions there is provided a refrigeration system including a compressor, a four way reversing valve, a condenser, a refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver according to the first aspect, an expansion device, and an evaporator.

Preferably the condenser or the evaporator is a refrigerant to air heat exchanger and the other is a refrigerant to liquid heat exchanger.

According to a still further aspect of the present inventions, a refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver is substantially as herein described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Further aspects of the inventions, which should be considered in all its novel aspects, will become apparent from the following description given by way of example of possible embodiments of the inventions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the inventions will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side elevation of a conventional reverse cycle receiver;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side elevation of a refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver according to an embodiment of the present inventions;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the refrigerant relief port of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional elevations of the receiver of FIG. 2, used in vertical and horizontal positions respectively;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a receiver according to a further embodiment of the present inventions with inner conduits entering the outer housing at different locations from that shown in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show two further embodiments of the inventive receiver;

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a refrigeration system including the receiver according to the present inventions, in a heating mode and cooling mode respectively.

Further aspects of the inventions, which should be considered in all its novel aspects, will become apparent from the following description given by way of example of possible embodiments of the inventions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTIONS

Referring to the accompany figures, a refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver 10 according to an embodiment of the inventions will be described, with the same reference numerals indicating the similar components.

Referring first to FIG. 2, the refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver 10 includes an outer housing 1 with a volume formed therein and a refrigerant pipeline 2 extending through the volume and connecting with the refrigerant line of a refrigeration system. The refrigerant pipeline 2 is also provided with a refrigerant relief port 3 for excess refrigerant to back up and fill the volume of the receiver 10 within the outer housing 1 at a location close to the bottom of the housing 1. The refrigerant relief port 3 is configured or controlled so that in a cooling mode, the refrigerant is pumped directly through the pipeline 2 and enters the evaporator heat exchanger, as shown in FIG. 9. In a heating mode, if the expansion valve closes and the refrigerant backs up, the refrigerant can relieve through the relief port 3 into the volume of the receiver 10, as shown in FIG. 8.

Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, the pipeline 2 can include two inner conduits 2 a, 2 b, which have different diameters and extend into the volume of the outer housing 1 from opposite sides thereof respectively. The smaller diameter conduit 2 a enters the larger one 2 b a short distance, preferably around 25 mm, and thus the refrigerant relief port 3 is formed therebetween due to the difference in diameters. FIG. 3 shows an end elevation of the refrigerant relief port 3 formed. In a preferred embodiment the cross sectional area of the refrigerant relief port 3 is substantially equal to the cross sectional area of the smaller diameter conduit 2 a.

In a cooling mode, the refrigerant is injected directly from the smaller diameter conduit 2 a into the larger diameter conduit 2 b and enters the evaporator heat exchanger. When the system is reversed, i.e. in heating mode, and the refrigerant fills the condenser heat exchanger and builds up back to the receiver, it can enter the receiver through the refrigerant relief port 3 formed between the two conduits 2 a, 2 b and avoid the refrigerant hydraulicing.

The smaller diameter conduit 2 a is positioned only a short distance into the receiver 10 and at or adjacent the bottom of the circumference of the housing 1, and close to the housing wall. This position allows the receiver 10 to be mounted either vertically or horizontally, as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 shows the receiver according to an alternative embodiment of the present inventions, in which the inner conduits enter the outer housing at different locations from that shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a modification of the pipeline 2 extending through the outer housing 1. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the pipeline 2 is comprised of a single conduit. A refrigerant relief hole 3 is provided in the conduit wall close to the bottom of the outer housing 1, which functions as the refrigerant relief port. In a preferred embodiment the area of the relief hole 3 is around 75% of the cross sectional area of the pipeline 2.

FIG. 7 shows another modification of the pipeline 2, in which the pipeline includes an “L” shaped inner conduit 2 a and a reversed “L” shaped inner conduit 2 b, entering or leaving the outer housing at the same side. The horizontal parts of two conduits are positioned close to the bottom of the outer housing 1. The horizontal part of one conduit 2 a is smaller than that of the other 2 b and can enter into the latter a short distance so that a refrigerant relief port 3 is formed between the horizontal legs of the conduits.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a refrigeration system 100 using the inventive receiver. This refrigeration system is configured as a conventional one except that the conventional receiver is substituted by the receiver of the present inventions and includes a compressor 50, a four way reversing valve 40, a refrigerant to air heat exchanger 60, a receiver 10 as described above, an expansion device 70, such as an expansion valve and a refrigerant to liquid heat exchanger 80. The refrigeration system 100 shown in FIG. 8 is running in a heating mode and the air heat exchanger 60 acts as a condenser and the liquid heat exchanger 80 serves as an evaporator. In FIG. 9, the system is operated in a cooling mode and the air heat exchanger 60 is reversed to act as an evaporator and the liquid heat exchanger 80 as a condenser. Reference numerals “A” and “B” indicates the refrigerant level in the receiver 10 in each mode, respectively, and it can be seen that the level B is much lower than level A, indicating that refrigerant has been removed from the system when in the heating mode and returned to the system in the cooling model.

Thus it can be seen that the present inventions provide a refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver which may provide some advantages over the prior art by providing a solution to the current problem.

Where in the foregoing description, reference has been made to specific components or integers of the inventions having known equivalents, then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

Although these inventions have been described by way of example, it should be understood that improvements and/or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present inventions as defined in the appended claims. 

1. A refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver including; an outer housing with a volume formed therein; and a refrigerant pipeline extending through the volume for connection with a refrigerant line of a refrigeration system; wherein the refrigerant pipeline is provided with a refrigerant relief port within the outer housing for allowing excess refrigerant to back up and fill the volume of the receiver when required in use.
 2. The refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant relief port is configured or controlled so that when a refrigeration system to which the receiver is connected in use is in a cooling mode, the refrigerant is pumped directly through the pipeline and enters an evaporator heat exchanger, and when the refrigeration system is in a heating mode, the refrigerant can relieve through the relief port into the volume of the receiver as required to reduce or prevent refrigerant pressure build up in a condenser heat exchanger.
 3. The refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the refrigerant pipeline consists of two inner conduits, which enter into the outer housing at opposite sides thereof and have different diameters, wherein the smaller diameter conduit enters into the larger one a short distance, thus forming the refrigerant relief port therebetween.
 4. The refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver according to claim 3, wherein the smaller diameter conduit enters into the receiver a short distance and at the bottom of the circumference of the housing, close to the housing wall, to allow the receiver to be mounted either vertically or horizontally.
 5. The refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the refrigerant pipeline is a single conduit, and the refrigerant relief port is provided as an aperture in the single conduit.
 6. The refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the refrigerant pipeline consists of a first “L” shaped conduit and a second reversed “L” shaped conduit, and wherein, the horizontal part of one conduit enters into the horizontal part of the other conduit so that the refrigerant relief port is formed therebetween.
 7. A refrigeration system including a compressor, a four way reversing valve, a condenser, a refrigerant reverse cycle balancing receiver according to claim 1, an expansion device, and an evaporator.
 8. The refrigeration system according to claim 7, wherein either the condenser or the evaporator is a refrigerant to air heat exchanger and the other is a refrigerant to liquid heat exchanger. 